FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeff Beck (202) 225-3765 June 29, 2017 http://chrissmith.house.gov Pelosi, Smith Resolution to Help Human Rights Giant Liu Xiaobo Passes House WASHINGTON, DC-Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Con. Res. 67, calling on the People’s Republic of China to unconditionally release Liu Xiaobo and, with his wife Liu Xia, allow them to freely meet with family and seek medical treatment, overseas if necessary. Liu Xiaobo, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, was in the midst of serving an 11 year sentence when he was diagnosed with liver cancer that had metastasized throughout his body. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-Chairman of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC), and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, also urges the Administration to assist in gaining Liu Xiaobo and his wife humanitarian transfer so that...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELE 154 NOBEL LAUREATES ACROSS THE SIX NOBEL DISCIPLINES URGE CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO ALLOW NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE LIU XIAOBO AND HIS WIFE LIU XIA TO TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT Washington, D.C.: Today, Freedom Now released a letter (full text and signatories below) just sent by 154 Nobel Laureates to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The letter states: “The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo has been diagnosed with liver cancer. His wife, Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest for almost seven years, is also ill. They have the wish to leave the country so they can receive medical care. Time is running out. We urge the Chinese government on humanitarian grounds to grant Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia’s wish to travel to the United States for medical treatment.” The letter was also...

Posted on Jun 29, 2017 in International Relations, News, Prisoners of Conscience | Comments Off on A Former Governor, A Beauty Queen And The Daughter Of A Kidnapped Bookseller Go To Parliament: One Year On, China’s Human Rights Darkness Is Darker Still

A Former Governor, A Beauty Queen And The Daughter Of A Kidnapped Bookseller Go To Parliament: One Year On, China’s Human Rights Darkness Is Darker Still 28/06/2017 Benedict Rogers Human rights activist and writer Exactly a year ago, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission published a report on China’s human rights crisis. The title, The Darkest Moment, came from the words of one Chinese dissident, Yang Jianli, who told us that “this is the darkest moment for Chinese human rights in years”. In the past twelve months, China has become darker still – as the mistreatment of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo epitomises. Our report was the result of an inquiry held to examine human rights in China during the period since Xi Jinping became President. It was held in light of the then British government’s talk of a ‘Golden Era’ in Sino-British relations, following...

Dear President Trump: Please Let Liu Xiaobo Die As a Free Man The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Has Devoted His Life to the Cause of Freedom in China. June 27, 2017 By Jared Genser and Yang Jianli On Monday, China released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo from prison on parole, after he was diagnosed as being in the final stages of liver cancer. He is being treated at a hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang, but he has asked Chinese authorities to let him travel to the United States with his wife, Liu Xia, for medical treatment. President Trump should immediately urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to grant Liu’s request on humanitarian grounds. It is incredibly disturbing that the Chinese government failed to diagnose its most famous political prisoner as having cancer until it was too late...

June 26, 2017 Contact: Ashley Etienne/Caroline Behringer, 202-226-7616 Pelosi Statement on Release of Liu Xiaobo Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after the release of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Chinese democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, following a diagnosis of late-stage liver cancer: “Liu Xiaobo is a hero who stands in the pantheon of great leaders for non-violence, justice and freedom throughout history. His arrest and imprisonment were a disgraceful betrayal of the rule of law and China’s own constitution, but his courage throughout his persecution and imprisonment has been an inspiration to the world. “Liu Xiaobo’s release is a deeply bittersweet moment for all freedom-loving people. While we are encouraged by the end of Liu’s unjust imprisonment, we are profoundly heartbroken by the news of his cancer and by the role the...

dawChairs Urge President Trump To Seek Immediate Transfer to U.S. for Treatment, Medical Parole for Other Detained Dissidents in Poor Health June 26, 2017 (Washington, DC)-Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith, the chair and cochair respectively of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), issued the following statements about the reported transfer of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo from Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning province to a hospital in Shenyang municipality for treatment of late-stage liver cancer. Dr. Liu is almost 8 years into his 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power” in connection with his efforts to press for political reform and human rights protections. The Chairs urge President Trump to seek Dr. Liu’s immediate transfer with his wife Liu Xia to the United States to explore treatment options, and call on the Administration...

We are shocked and saddened to learn that China’s only Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has recently been diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. We are relieved that he has been released from prison for medical treatment. However, we are seriously concerned that the Chinese regime will continue to deny Liu Xiaobo freedom, restrict his movement, and prevent him from receiving adequate medical care. The transfer from prison to hospital does not guarantee that his friends or family will be able to visit. We therefore strongly urge the Chinese authorities to let Liu Xiaobo free, ensure he received effective access to his family, allow him to choose where and how he wants to be treated. If Liu Xiaobo and his family choose to seek medical treatment overseas, IFC/CP will provide full assistance. We believe that the Chinese Communist regime is...

“Red Notices” for Human Rights Abusers by YANG Jianli Interpol, the intergovernmental organization that facilitates police cooperation among member states, often issues red notices to alert its members to locate and arrest wanted persons with the aim of extradition or similar lawful action. Interpol’s mission is guided by the principle of neutrality and Article 3 of its Constitution forbids the organization involved in any political activities. However, authoritarian governments have increasingly used this process to target activists and journalists who are critical of the regime, and located outside the country. The governments’ aim is not only to secure their return to face trial on trumped-up charges, but also discredit and intimidate them, thereby damaging their reputation and harming their professional and possible business interests. When Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman-turned-whistleblower, began to reveal information about corruption among China’s top leadership, Interpol, –whose current...

Posted on Jun 15, 2017 in News, Publications | Comments Off on The Prague Appeal for Democratic Renewal

The Prague Appeal for Democratic Renewal Adopted in Prague on May 26, 2017 Liberal democracy is under threat, and all who cherish it must come to its defense. Democracy is threatened from without by despotic regimes in Russia, China, and other countries that are tightening repression internally and expanding their power globally, filling vacuums left by the fading power, influence, and self-confidence of the long-established democracies. The authoritarians are using old weapons of hard power as well as new social media and a growing arsenal of soft power to create a post-democratic world order in which norms of human rights and the rule of law are replaced by the principle of absolute state sovereignty. Democracy is also being threatened from within. Illiberalism is on the rise in Turkey, Hungary, the Philippines, Venezuela, and other backsliding democracies. In other countries – even long-established democracies – support for liberal democracy has eroded in recent years, especially among younger people who have no memory of the struggles against totalitarianism. Faith in democratic institutions has been declining for some time, as governments seem unable to cope with the complex new challenges of globalization, political processes appear increasingly sclerotic and dysfunctional, and the bureaucracies managing both national and global institutions seem remote and overbearing. Compounding the difficulties, terrorist violence...

Opinion: UCSD Chinese Should Welcome Dalai Lama -Not Parrot Party Line June 11, 2017 By Yang Jianli What do Richard Spencer, Ann Coulter, and the Dalai Lama have in common? Each of them has been the target of college student protests opposing their speeches on campus. But unlike Mr. Spencer and Ms. Coulter, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was born on a straw mat in a cowshed to a poor Tibetan family, and is now one of the most beloved and sought after world leaders. The most recent college campus speaker controversy involves the University of California at San Diego‘s invitation to the Dalai Lama to deliver the commencement address on June 17. The invitation has triggered strong opposition from some Chinese students on campus. As an ethnic Han Chinese myself, I am deeply troubled by the reaction of these Chinese students. Not because they...